Rock Bottom Brewery

Hey Everybody!

Finally catching up on my back log of reviews. I still have plenty of beer reviews to go, but I want to finish these last few place reviews.

The past Monday Boozer X, Jay, Rothy, Phill, and I went to Rock Bottom in King of Prussia. Website: http://www.rockbottom.com/king-prussia. It is a chain Brew Pub based in Louisville, CO. Located next to the Sears store in the King of Prussia Mall, tucked away in the corner. Trust me it was a little hard to find. Boozer X and I drove passed it 3 times before we found it.

Rock Bottom seems to be the place where all the workers from the mall and local restaurants seem to go after their shifts. It seems like it could be a pretty lively place, but not that Monday. I know that will change when football season starts up again. The only thing that got me is where do there employees from this bar go to hang out when their shifts are done?

It is pretty much what you expect of any chain place. Crap on the walls, booth seating, huge bar, and a ton of lights on a dimmer switch. The service was okay, but it seemed they were under maned. Now I will say I'm a little harsh in my description of the place, but it is easier for you to imagine what this place looks like. Just don't hold this image I have painted in your mind against this place. I'm just a little jaded because I love the local corner pub look when I'm out for a few beers with my friends.

So we ordered up some appetizers and a round of beers. We had some good conversations about nothing, while we waited. Phill had ordered mainly everything. Soft pretzels with a jalapeno cheese sauce, which wasn't bad, but I would have preferred a spicy ground mustard. A platter of Nacho chips with everything on it. An order of Macaroni and cheese for himself. I ordered the Roasted Red Pepper Humus with pita slices, carrots, and snap peas. The humus was good, but as most people know it's not really hard to mess it up. What got me though was how fresh the carrots and snap peas tasted.

So I will say my overall experience was nice, and I will give this place another try in the near future before I pass judgement on it. For now I'll say you want to try some good craft beers after you have been shopping at the mall, this is the place to cool your heels. So lets get to those beer reviews, shall we? Note that all the beers are made in house and you can purchase growlers to take home with you.

King's Wit with an ABV. or 5.4%. A seasonal summer wheat beer. It poured a cloudy gold color with a white head. The nose had hints of orange and wheat malt. Mouth fell was light and finished up crisp. The taste had hints of Citrus, coriander, and light earthy tones. This would be a perfect beer for some outdoor grilling. Simple to the point and real could go with pretty much everything.

Munich Gold Lager with a ABV. of 5.4%. A German Style lager. Poured a clear golden brown with a white head. Sweet malt and a little bit of a earthy hops is what I got smelled in the aroma. The mouth feel was clean, crisp. Was a bit hoppy up front, the bitter hit on the middle, then finished up nice and clean and dry. The taste at first was earthy hop, then balanced with the rich malt. I really didn't pick up to much other flavors. All in all, a great dinner beer to go with finger foods, or even a nice steak.

Penn's Curse Amber Ale with, you guessed it, an ABV. of 5.4%. Poured a clear reddish brown with a white creamy head. Smelled of roasted malt, some caramel, and some hops. The mouth feel was a light to a medium feel. The sweet caramel malt hits you first, then hops hit you in the middle. The roasted malt and some the bitter gets you on the back end. I would have to pair this up against the soft pretzel and jalapeno cheese.

The coolest thing about this brew pub chain is that the brew masters at each place have some leeway into making some seasonal beer for their respected local communities. I know that the ratings for all the beers are a "5", that wasn't a mistake. They all were great beers, and they tasted great. The Abbaye in Philadelphia blog coming up next, is one of my personal favorites thus far in the search for the best corner pub/cafe in Philadelphia. Also don't forget the "Mug Shot" picture contest runs until August 20, 2010 for picture submissions to win some cool Glassware and cash. Good luck to you all and as always, "Be Well, and Drink Well!!"

Varga, Varga, Varga!!!

!enoyrevE olleH <~~ I know I'm a dork.

Well the same night Jay and I went to "Fogo De Choa", we also went Dr. Watson's (again), and Varga Bar. This blog takes place after dinner when we decided to meet up with a few more friends. Of which one of them ended up not making appearence, because they fell asleep on the couch instead of making it out. Do who did show up was our friend Phill. Now on to the the rebroadcast of the evening's festivities.

Our stomaches filled with awesome eats, Jay and I decided to meet up at Doc Watson's with Phill and someone else who will remained nameless. The great things about nights like theses, is there is always something to amplify the adventure like my phone battery dying. Which it was in the processes of. So I manage to retrieve Phill's and the Nameless One's phone number out, and give them a text to where we would be before it completely died.

We met up with Phill on 11 St. and made our way to Doc Watson's, to wait to hear from the Nameless One. I subjected Jay and Phill to the Pineapple shots, which they hate me for, and gave each other a good ribbing about how much of a wuss each of us are. Some time passes, a few beers, and yet the Nameless One has yet to return our text. Then I decided that we needed to make our way to our next spot the Varga Bar. Now that my phone is completely dead, I had Phill text the Nameless One where we were going next.

The Varga Bar, a busy little conner bar on 10th and Spruce St. Website: http://www.vargabar.com/ . Outside there is cafe style seating on the sidewalk. On this inside the walls have "Pin-up Girls" on the wall. My kind of place. They had a wide range of beers on tap for "Philly Beer Week". For a wednesday night, this place was hopping. Being in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia, this is the place is that place you can cool down after a long day at work with friends.

Phill was also a little hungry because he did not eat before he came out, so he order himself a "Veggie Burger". This thing was massive. He did enjoy this mega sandwich with one comment. Before I tell you the comment, it might help you understand it by knowning a small fact about Phill. He is a chef at another resturaunt. "I think the chedder cheese takes away from the other flavors in th sandwich". He might have been right, but he still cleaned the plate. So take what you will from that with a slice of cheese. During all this we ordered some beers, oh and look, I did a review on them. How suprising.

Harviestoun 40 year Ola Dubh by Harviestoun Brewey Ltd. United Kingdom. This poured black with a thin light brown ring of head. The nose was of whisky, a little smoke, oak, yeasty spice, and a little earthy. The mouth feel was creamy and a little thick, but nice. The taste was sweet, had some dried fruit, chocolate, hint of roast malt, and some caramel. It had a little aftertaste of sweetness and nip of bitter, but didn't last long. I really enjoyed this one, and so did everyone else. I would say the best thing is to serve this after any meal to sit with. You really don't want miss tasting the subtle flavors in this beer. Although, now that I think of it, this would go really well with some strong flavored cheeses as a contrast.

Website: http://www.harviestoun.com/OlaDubh/

"Gamma Ray" by Terrapin Beer Company. This poured a bright hazy orange with a nice white head. The nose had a little funk to it, with a lot of wheat charactor, and some honey. I tasted a little citrus almost like "Tang", but no one else did. I also tasted some wheat malt, honey, earthy hops, and sour. The mouth feel was smooth and the alcohol was extremely well hidden. Another "Trouble Maker" as Boozer X would say. Jay said it tasted like "Lazer Beams". Phill also really enjoyed this as well, as good complament to his "Veggie Burger".The reason this did not get a 7 is because I like it so much, that if it was around it would be drunk.

Website: http://www.terrapinbeer.com/beers/19-Gamma-Ray

"Depth Charge" by Terrapin Beer Company. This poured blackish brown, with a dark tan head. The nose was like expresso beans, chocolate, and caramel. It tasted like expresso coffee, some chocolate hints, cream, and sweet malt. The mouth feel was like a iced creamy coffee with a little heat, but barely noticiable. After taste was pretty much like after your morning cup of coffee. This is another beer I would like to put some ice cream on top of. A fantastic "BEER FLOAT" beer.

Website: http://www.terrapinbeer.com/beers/22-Brew-Two-2009---Depth-Charge-


As we were leaving, I found out that this place has "Growlers" you can take home with any beer from the tap. We got to of them with Weyerbacher "Verboten" and "Kilo" in them. We did get a lot of head in the "Verboten", enough to get one less pint out of, but in all fairness they had a little problem with the tap and we to get going. I'll have a review on them a little later in the summer. After this we made our way home, and the Nameless One slept the night away. As always "Be Well, Drink Well!"